Isololate
by Snug
Summary: Squall is an aspiring author, he pours his heart out into his novels, but he misses Rinoa desperately. Seifer is trying to kill him, and the rest are repairing Trabia. Will Squall step out of his shell, or remain isolated?


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Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VIII

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Squall ran a hand through his hair. He looked at the last few paragraphs he had just written for his new novel: Up in the Castle With the Blood and the Pain

_The mysterious man picked up his sword again, and stared at the princess, completely emotionless. She smiled sweetly and picked up her wine glass once more. The swirled the dark red liquid twice, and then brought the glass to her lips. She loved the way he trembled. She loved the way he didn't want to kill her; but he had to.  
" Go ahead Katsunan. Kill me. I trained you myself, and I know you can do it." The girl smiled at him again. She tucked some loose hair behind her ear with her free hand, and then threw her quarter full wine glass straight at him. She watched with glee as he held up his sword, and the glass shattered against it's metal. The dark red liquid sprayed all over him.  
She could have easily killed him there with her magic, but she didn't. Katsunan knew she was toying with him. He knew that with a snap of her fingers he could be dead._

Squall looked up as he heard a noise. He picked up his lion heart gun blade, and cocked his head listening intently. He caught movement in the corner of his eye, and saw a figure outside his window. Then after the shattering of his window, his blade was met with another.

" You've gotten better Squall." Seifer Almasy grinned a devilish grin.

" Are you going to pay for that window?" Squall broke their swords' contact, and just stared at Seifer. Seifer jumped towards him, and tried to stab Squall in the chest, but Squall easily knocked Seifer's blade sideways with his own.

" You've got the money." What Seifer said was true. Squall was a famous author, and few thousand gil was nothing to him.

" You could have even more money than me, if you stopped trying to kill me, and got a job or something." Squall's blade met with Seifer's with a loud clanging noise that rang in both the men's ears. However they were used to it from endless hours of training with anything and everything.

Seifer took a step back, and prepared to cast a spell on his opponent. This reminded Squall of their first true, pain inflicting battle. The one where he had received the scar that marked his face. Squall quickly summoned up his own spell.

" THUNDAGA!" Squall shouted loudly at exactly the same time that Seifer shouted Firaga nearly as loudly. The two spells met in the middle, and cancelled out each other. Squall was relieved to see that his mansion was undamaged. He eyed the papers on his desk. He really would kill Seifer if he burned them, or if they got damaged in any way.

Fortunately for Squall, Seifer didn't follow his gaze.

" You really have gotten better Squall, but there's no way that you can beat me." Seifer scowled a challenge at Squall. Squall could never turn down a challenge.

" Do you really want to die that bad Seifer?"

" No actually, I have no death wish."

Suddenly Squall rushed at Seifer. He hit him with the side of his blade; Seifer was unconscious. Squall dragged him over to the window. With only a little strain, Squall tossed him out of the second-story window.

Squall duct taped some saran wrap across the broken window. He sighed. Seifer attacked about once a month and frankly, Squall was getting tired of it.

Squall sat down in his leather chair once more, with his gun blade next to him. He put one hand on his head, and thought about how much he missed Rinoa. He would do anything to hold her in his arms again... to stroke her head and protect her from all the monsters like he had used to do back in the past.  
Only two years had passed since they had defeated the evil sorceress Ultimecia, but to Squall it felt like centuries. Ever since the sorceress battling SeeDs had disbanded, the Balamb Garden was one huge orphanage. It was dedicated to training the children against monsters. Rinoa was one of the instructors there. Zell was working nearby in Balamb, doing odd jobs. Selphie and Irvine were helping to rebuild Trabia Garden, and Quistis split her time helping them, and researching about the effects of guardian forces on your mind and brain. Squall spent his time at the Deep Sea Research Lab, and had built a mansion there. Even though he didn't study anything in the lower levels, he sometimes just took walks along the lab, and fought a few monsters to keep up his training. He loved the isolation, and could write his novels in peace away from huge cities like Esthar or Deling. However, whenever he was either lonely or missed someone or wanted to sell his latest novel, he would use the Ragnorak to go anywhere.

Squall skimmed what he had read quickly. It was past midnight already, so he couldn't go to Garden and see Rinoa. He would just have to keep writing.

_" Stop toying with me Feraen." Katsunan growled at her. He loathed people that messed with him.  
" You silly boy, I'm your enemy but you still call me by my name." Feraen smirked at him evilly. Just then Katsunan realized his mistake. He couldn't kill her now.  
" Sorceress, I will defeat you. You took my darling Rino-_

Squall scratched at the paper with his pen where he had accidentally started to write Rinoa. Katsunan's lover's was name was Sukiai. Squall almost started to cry as he studied his notes, and saw the meaning of Sukiai: Beloved love. Even though Squall had been changed by Rinoa, he was slowly creeping back into his shell again. However, he knew that he would never be able to completely go back. She had touched him to deeply for that. But he needed to see her, now.  
It's too early in the morning to go to Garden, Squall's logical half of his mind argues with his impulsive as he pulled on his jacket. Squall paused for just a moment. He wanted to see her so badly. It had been nearly a month since he had last seen her. Squall imagined her delicate features... It didn't even matter to him that he would have to wake her up, possibly risking her anger. He didn't care. Even though he wouldn't admit it to anyone, he HAD to see her.

Squall made his way to the bridge of the Ragnorak. He flipped some switches, and it was ready to go. Squall made it to Balamb Garden in a little over thirty minutes. He was pleased with this time, he had burned all his gas and had gone full power pretty much the whole way, but still the Deep Sea Research Lab was in the middle of no where.

Squall entered Garden, and hopped the small gate that was meant to control the SeeDs coming and going later than curfew. He saw the old guard that liked to scold the SeeDs asleep at the counter. Squall swiftly but silently made his way to the student dormitories. Even though Rinoa was an instructor, she chose to reside with the students as to not make them feel stiff and think of her as just an annoying instructor. Squall saw that her light was on, and her door was unlocked. He entered quietly, because he was afraid that if he knocked that he might awaken a SeeD. Squall saw Rinoa at her desk, and was about to greet her with a hand on her shoulder, when he saw that her eyes were closed and she was sleeping soundly. Squall took in her small shoulders, and the necklace with her mother's engagement ring as the charm. He had missed her so much.

Squall then noticed a pen leaning on her slim fingers. He saw that she had written a note, but her hand was blocking it. Squall was curious, so he gently lifted her hand and removed the scrap of paper from the surface of the desk. He breathed a sigh of relief at not waking her. He studied the sheet of paper, and was surprised to find a short poem,

**I miss you**

** I'm waiting**

**Where are you?**

**I miss you**

** I always wait for you**

** Why don't you come?**

**I miss you so much**

** I'll continue waiting until you come back**

** When you do I'll greet you with open arms**

Squall was astonished at the poem. The second verse seemed impatient, and almost angry. Was Rinoa really feeling this way? Squall didn't want to wake her, so instead of confronting her directly, he revised her poem.

**I miss you** _even when you're here_

** I'm waiting for you** _even when you're near_

** Where are you?**

** I**** miss you so much**_ it's hard to bear_

** I always wait for you** _I know you care_

** Why don't you come?**

**I miss you so much**

** I'll continue waiting until you come back**

** When you do I'll greet you with open arms  
**

I miss you so much I'll continue waiting until you come back When you do I'll greet you with open arms

Squall smiled tiredly at his work, and slipped the paper back under Rinoa's slim hand. Then he stumbled out of her room, and shut the door quietly. He wanted to just lay down on the ground there, and just sleep. He could be right in front of her door, protecting her even when she slept.

However, Squall had his pride to protect. He walked slowly to the infirmary. He made sure that no one was in the small hospital bed, and fell asleep fast. He hadn't know how tired he really was in his little cave, but here was reality. The place Squall Lionheart should be.

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REVIEW!!!!! You can flame if you think it makes you look like a badass I guess. I know that Squall seems a little bit to emotional towards Rinoa. Two years have passed, and I think that this is how it would be. THANX!!!

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